Get a free audiobook
-
They Call Me George
- The Untold Story of Black Train Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada
- Narrated by: Dillon Taylor
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Categories: History, Americas
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Mountains Sing
- Written by: Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
- Narrated by: Quyen Ngo
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee's Pachinko and Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner's In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North.
-
-
A tremendous tale of true generational hardship
- By Ryan on 2021-04-10
-
The Elephant Whisperer
- My Life with the Herd in the African Wild
- Written by: Lawrence Anthony, Graham Spence
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
>When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, his common sense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival: they would be killed if he wouldn't take them. In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom.
-
-
Loved this book, highly recommend it!
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-09-10
-
The Greatest
- My Own Story
- Written by: Muhammad Ali, Richard Durham
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his own words, the heavyweight champion of the world pulls no punches as he chronicles the battles he faced in and out of the ring in this fascinating memoir edited by Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Toni Morrison. Growing up in the South, surrounded by racial bigotry and discrimination, Ali fought not just for a living, but also for respect and rewards far more precious than money or glory. He was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the BBC.
-
-
timeless
- By Nathan Rothstein on 2020-09-18
-
In the Black
- My Life
- Written by: B. Denham Jolly
- Narrated by: Tim Puckett
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the Black traces B. Denham Jolly's personal and professional struggle for a place in a country where Black Canadians have faced systematic discrimination. He arrived from Jamaica to attend university in the mid-1950s and worked as a high school teacher before going into the nursing and retirement-home business. Though he was ultimately successful in his business ventures, Jolly faced both overt and covert discrimination, which led him into social activism.
-
-
Canadian history that we all need to know
- By Melissa L Krull on 2018-09-19
-
A Strange Little Place
- The Hauntings & Unexplained Events of One Small Town
- Written by: Brennan Storr
- Narrated by: Brennan Storr
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Revelstoke: Where the worlds of the living, dead, and extraordinary collide. Embark on a fascinating journey into Revelstoke, Canada, a world-renowned ski destination with a well-kept secret: It has a long and active paranormal history just as breathtaking as its mountain views. Packed with stories of hauntings, UFOs, Sasquatch, missing time, and much more, A Strange Little Place takes you into a small town full of thrilling secrets and bizarre encounters.
-
-
Absolutely fantastic "read"
- By keeho on 2020-12-04
-
Nature's Best Hope
- A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard
- Written by: Douglas W. Tallamy
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Douglas W. Tallamy's first book, Bringing Nature Home, awakened thousands of individuals to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives. In this new book, Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation.
-
-
Learned So much!
- By Terri Martin on 2020-06-22
-
The Mountains Sing
- Written by: Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
- Narrated by: Quyen Ngo
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee's Pachinko and Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner's In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North.
-
-
A tremendous tale of true generational hardship
- By Ryan on 2021-04-10
-
The Elephant Whisperer
- My Life with the Herd in the African Wild
- Written by: Lawrence Anthony, Graham Spence
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
>When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, his common sense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival: they would be killed if he wouldn't take them. In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom.
-
-
Loved this book, highly recommend it!
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-09-10
-
The Greatest
- My Own Story
- Written by: Muhammad Ali, Richard Durham
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his own words, the heavyweight champion of the world pulls no punches as he chronicles the battles he faced in and out of the ring in this fascinating memoir edited by Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Toni Morrison. Growing up in the South, surrounded by racial bigotry and discrimination, Ali fought not just for a living, but also for respect and rewards far more precious than money or glory. He was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the BBC.
-
-
timeless
- By Nathan Rothstein on 2020-09-18
-
In the Black
- My Life
- Written by: B. Denham Jolly
- Narrated by: Tim Puckett
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the Black traces B. Denham Jolly's personal and professional struggle for a place in a country where Black Canadians have faced systematic discrimination. He arrived from Jamaica to attend university in the mid-1950s and worked as a high school teacher before going into the nursing and retirement-home business. Though he was ultimately successful in his business ventures, Jolly faced both overt and covert discrimination, which led him into social activism.
-
-
Canadian history that we all need to know
- By Melissa L Krull on 2018-09-19
-
A Strange Little Place
- The Hauntings & Unexplained Events of One Small Town
- Written by: Brennan Storr
- Narrated by: Brennan Storr
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Revelstoke: Where the worlds of the living, dead, and extraordinary collide. Embark on a fascinating journey into Revelstoke, Canada, a world-renowned ski destination with a well-kept secret: It has a long and active paranormal history just as breathtaking as its mountain views. Packed with stories of hauntings, UFOs, Sasquatch, missing time, and much more, A Strange Little Place takes you into a small town full of thrilling secrets and bizarre encounters.
-
-
Absolutely fantastic "read"
- By keeho on 2020-12-04
-
Nature's Best Hope
- A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard
- Written by: Douglas W. Tallamy
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Douglas W. Tallamy's first book, Bringing Nature Home, awakened thousands of individuals to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives. In this new book, Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation.
-
-
Learned So much!
- By Terri Martin on 2020-06-22
-
The Last Flight
- A Novel
- Written by: Julie Clark
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam, Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of 10, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he's not above using his staff to track Claire's every move, making sure she's living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn't know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.
-
-
Easy listening and enjoyable!
- By Tanya on 2021-01-18
-
A Brief History of the World
- Written by: Peter N. Stearns, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Peter N. Stearns
- Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The construction of the great pyramids of Egypt, the development of democracy in ancient Greece, the glories of ancient Rome-these stories are familiar to students of history. But what about the rest of the world? How do the histories of China and Japan, or Russia, India, and the remote territories of Sub-Saharan Africa and South America fit in with commonly known accounts of Western traditions?Learn the rest of the story with these 36 riveting lectures that survey the expanse of human development and civilization across the globe.
-
-
World History should be mandatory. great course
- By CalltheDoctor on 2018-09-13
-
Whatever You Do, Don't Run
- True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide
- Written by: Peter Allison
- Narrated by: Antony Ferguson
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whatever You Do, Don't Run is a hilarious collection of true tales from top safari guide Peter Allison. In a place where the wrong behavior could get you eaten, Allison has survived face-to-face encounters with big cats, angry elephants, and the world's most unpredictable animals: herds of untamed tourists and foolhardy guides whose outrageous antics sometimes make them even more dangerous than a pride of hungry lions!
-
-
Enjoyable light listening
- By Barb Hamilton on 2020-04-02
-
Ubik
- Written by: Philip K. Dick
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Glen Runciter runs a lucrative business - deploying his teams of anti-psychics to corporate clients who want privacy and security from psychic spies. But when he and his top team are ambushed by a rival, he is gravely injured and placed in "half-life," a dreamlike state of suspended animation. Soon, though, the surviving members of the team begin experiencing some strange phenomena, such as Runciter's face appearing on coins and the world seeming to move backward in time.
-
-
Reality Bending
- By Austin Fusilier on 2019-06-28
-
Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime
- Written by: Benjamin Schumacher, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Benjamin Schumacher
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gravity controls everything from the falling of an apple to the rising of ocean’s tides to the motions of the heavens above. If you’ve ever wondered how this most puzzling force works across our entire universe, you will be delighted by this 24-part course that is accessible to any curious person, regardless of your science education. No other product on the market presents the subject of gravity in as much detail as this course, which will follow the past 400 years of research and experimentation in the field.
-
-
Hard to find a better story.
- By Aaron Gemmell on 2021-04-13
-
The Fall of Berlin 1945
- Written by: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Third Reich in January 1945. Frenzied by their terrible experiences with Wehrmacht and SS brutality, they wreaked havoc - tanks crushing refugee columns, mass rape, pillage, and unimaginable destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred; more than seven million fled westward from the fury of the Red Army. It was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known.
-
-
Great book! Definitely recommend
- By aaron on 2018-07-02
-
Somebody to Love
- The Life, Death and Legacy of Freddie Mercury
- Written by: Matt Richards, Mark Langthorne
- Narrated by: Tim Bruce
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Freddie Mercury died in 1991, aged just 45, the world was rocked by the vibrant and flamboyant star's tragic secret that he had been battling AIDS. That Mercury had even been diagnosed came as a shock to his millions of fans, with his announcement coming less than 24 hours before his death. In Somebody to Love, biographers Mark Langthorne and Matt Richards skilfully weave Freddie Mercury's incredible pursuit of musical greatness with Queen, his upbringing and his endless search for love with the story of a terrible disease.
-
-
Morbid Garbage
- By Richard K on 2020-02-14
-
15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management
- The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs
- Written by: Kevin Kruse
- Narrated by: Kevin Kruse
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Kevin Kruse presents the remarkable findings of his study of ultraproductive people. Based on survey research and interviews with billionaires, Olympic athletes, straight-A students, and over 200 entrepreneurs - including Mark Cuban, Kevin Harrington, James Altucher, John Lee Dumas, Pat Flynn, Grant Cardone, and Lewis Howes - Kruse answers the question: What are the secrets to extreme productivity?
-
-
Great suggestions
- By donna vincent on 2020-02-04
-
Thick
- And Other Essays
- Written by: Tressie McMillan Cottom
- Narrated by: Tressie McMillan Cottom
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Smart, humorous, and strikingly original essays by one of “America’s most bracing thinkers on race, gender, and capitalism of our time.” (Rebecca Traister) In these eight piercing explorations on beauty, media, money, and more, Tressie McMillan Cottom - award-winning professor and acclaimed author of Lower Ed - embraces her venerated role as a purveyor of wit, wisdom, and Black Twitter snark about all that is right and much that is wrong with this thing we call society.
-
-
Important, incisive and grounded
- By Jenn G on 2021-03-16
-
The Space Race
- An Audible Original
- Written by: Colin Brake, Patrick Chapman, Richard Hollingham, and others
- Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A century ago very few people dreamed of space travel. Today it is the most daring and technologically sophisticated quest ever undertaken, being driven not just by government agencies such as NASA and ESA, but also by visionaries such as Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic), Elon Musk (SpaceX) and Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin). To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing, this major drama-documentary series charts the definitive story of the past, present and future of humankind’s exploration of space. The Space Race is narrated by Kate Mulgrew and features a full cast.
-
-
Snooze
- By Anonymous User on 2021-02-23
-
Trinity
- Written by: Leon Uris
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 34 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the acclaimed author who enthralled the world with Exodus, Battle Cry, QB VII, Topaz, and other beloved classics of twentieth-century fiction comes a sweeping and powerful epic adventure that captures the "terrible beauty" of Ireland during its long and bloody struggle for freedom. It is the electrifying story of an idealistic young Catholic rebel and the valiant and beautiful Protestant girl who defied her heritage to join his cause. It is a tale of love and danger, of triumph at an unthinkable cost.
-
-
only one regret
- By Barb M on 2019-10-25
-
Bitter Brew
- Written by: Kelsey Grammer, Laura J. Bailey
- Narrated by: Kelsey Grammer
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Actor Kelsey Grammer, best known for his roles in the TV sitcoms Cheers and Frasier, delivers Bitter Brew, a compelling mystery featuring Detective Bill Walsh, an upstate cop in the quiet, rural town of Beatriceville, 200 miles north of New York City, who suspects foul play in the death of millionaire city transplant Jonathan Kimball, even though the evidence points to suicide, not murder.
-
-
Is this supposed to be a serious story or not.
- By kevin on 2020-06-14
Publisher's Summary
A CBC Books Must-Read Nonfiction Book for Black History Month
Nominated for the Toronto Book Award
Smartly dressed and smiling, Canada’s black train porters were a familiar sight to the average passenger - yet their minority status rendered them politically invisible, second-class in the social imagination that determined who was and who was not considered Canadian. Subjected to grueling shifts and unreasonable standards - a passenger missing his stop was a dismissible offense - the so-called Pullmen of the country’s rail lines were denied secure positions and prohibited from bringing their families to Canada, and it was their struggle against the racist Dominion that laid the groundwork for the multicultural nation we know today. Drawing on the experiences of these influential black Canadians, Cecil Foster’s They Call Me George demonstrates the power of individuals and minority groups in the fight for social justice and shows how a country can change for the better.
What listeners say about They Call Me George
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ColeeR
- 2020-03-10
Great Listen: My Father was a Sleeping Car Porter!
This is an excellent CANADIAN history book that needs to be included in the high school curriculum. I am very eager to learn more of this history and want my children to learn this as well. I believe it is so important for educators to be looking to include such diverse historical accounts. I appreciate that Canadian immigration was critically discussed by Foster as I have one parent from the Caribbean and one from Europe. I know that my white European ancestors had an easier time immigrating to Canada with fewer restrictions. I learned that history on my own but I wish I would have learned this in my history class.
The performance was very good. But I would have liked if they would have casted a Black man to read the story of Black men and their difficulties to getting decent work, pay, and respect in Canada. I wonder if a Black narrator was not available. As a Black woman it was very obvious to me that the narrator, while excellent, did not sound like a Black man and for me this was a distraction when I was trying to listen to the story.
As a devil's advocate, I will say that our history is for more than just Black people. it should be history that ALL Canadians read. So in that regard, it is perhaps appropriate to have a great narrator of any colour first as opposed to a great Black narrator.
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kenneth Chisholm
- 2020-04-12
A Fascinating look at honest Canadian History!
This book rights a bit of Canadian historical ignorance about some of its heroes.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stahl Family
- 2021-02-04
A must read regarding Multiculturalism in Canada
I now understand my grandfather's experiences in Canada, moving here in the 50s from the Caribbean. Ones he wouldn't talk about in the workplace. I also understand my Alberta history in a new light. There were systems that needed to be challenged so I could experience more opportunities in my native land. There are still many perceptions that must continue to be questioned and discredited. I won't take my life for granted, ever again.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jessica Easton
- 2020-08-31
Jim Crow in Canada
A humbling true story of racism in Canada and the heroic battle by those oppressed to create a foundation for change. Yes, more work to be done. Well written and researched.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-07-23
Strong history context
Excellent history about past restrictions in Canadian immigration and the role the sleeping car porters played in paving the way for a new generation of Black immigrants to Canada.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-03-16
Hiddeb Black History
I absolutely love and appreciate the history and all that this book offers. I love how Foster did not centre himself in the telling of these stories but rather allow the storytellers to tell their own stories.
The stories capture the nuances of anti-Black racism and how it played out in the lives and on the bodies of Black men. The dehumanizing experiences and the exploitative conditions that the men experienced and their consequences are made very clear in this book.
This book allows us to see how being Black rarely changes Black people's experiences but we see how being white, Jewish or Irish for example, changes people's experiences over time. Being white becomes acceptable while Black is Always unacceptable.
I appreciate seeing the activism and collaboration amongst different groups of immigrants that were stigmatized, stereotyped and systematically marginalized. This supports Bromley Armstrong's stories in his book.
Foster gives us a glimpse into the rationale for trade unions and government changing white supremacist anti-Black racist policies and practices. We can see that the changes came because of shifting transportation and economic needs and not because of equity.
The only thing I wonder about in this book is where are the women? Often when we write history, Black women are written out of them. In this book, Black women were not even given the space of a footnote.
So while Black women were not Porter's, where were they and what roles did they play to support the Black men who were doing the activism? It seems unlikely that they would not be activists as well. What experiences did they have during this time?
Some of today's activist could take some lessons from these historical figures with respect to working together and forging alliances with otters.
Thank you Cecil Foster.
Well done
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Geoff
- 2021-03-11
Great Canadian History Lesson
I picked this audible book up mainly as I was interested in learning more about Canada's History from a racial perspective and I was not disappointed.
This book provides an excellent history lesson on how racist Canada was in it's past with regards to many of it's immigration policies and how it kept non-white individuals out of positions of any real power. The stories of the Railway Porters are intertwined within this history lesson in a very engaging way. This is a story that should be included in history lessons today. Aside from the racist policies existing during these times (existent up to early 1970s) there is very interesting information about the West Indies and how, despite their embracing of British Culture they were never considered more than second class people, which is just horrible. I also learned that the West Indies were looking to join Canada but were rejected mostly due to the high black population of those islands. Unforgiveable!
Since this was an audible review, I must say the individual who read this story was a little more monotone and a bit dry for my liking. The story itself, while very informative, was also a bit dry in it's writing style but then it's also written more like a history lesson so that may be par for the course in that case.
Overall, this is a 4-star audible book with 5 stars for the information you will get from within. If you want to learn more about the history of Canada you don't get from High School, read this book!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-02-16
Important part of Canadian history
This is a much needed work to outline the contributions of Black people is building a “multicultural” Canada. Every Canadian should know the work that Black sleeping car porters put in to allow all non-white people to freely immigrate into Canada. This should be taught in schools, if it was, we wouldn’t have a lot of the racial issues we currently have in this country of Canada. Great piece of work, i commend Cecil Foster for putting this work together so the contributions and sacrifices of so many Black people, will not be forgotten. One Love.